Local economies
Town recovery the tailored way
The pandemic has made delivering strong, more inclusive and resilient towns crucial, argues Katie Hickman. Here, she outlines the two key elements that will ensure the success of the £3.6bn Towns Fund programme.
A confirmation of local government’s true resilience
Heather Jameson ponders what the latest CIPFA resilience index tells us about the state of local government finances. It contains 'a curious mix of highly informative and utterly irrelevant information'.
Levelling Up Fund to feature rapid bid process
The £4bn cross-departmental Levelling Up Fund will feature a rapid bid process, with all projects having to be completed before the next General Election, The MJ understands.
Cities are key to building back better, think-tank says
Government will not be able to fulfil its commitment to building back better without investment in cities, a new report commissioned by Core Cities UK has claimed.
Councils walk away from business rates pools amid income fears
Four business rates pools have walked away from the opportunity amid major uncertainty about the future income hit.
Councils bail out airport
Local authorities are among the shareholders that have been asked to provide loans to Birmingham Airport as it suffers from COVID-19 restrictions.
Back to the future for Big Bang of the North
A new study on levelling up the North sounds like a return to urban development corporations, says Michael Burton.
Can logistics deliver a greener, more sustainable recovery in the capital?
Robin Woodbridge lays out the arguments for refocusing on industrial development in London, including the creation of job opportunities for local people.
Chancellor must avoid a one-size-fits-all Treasury-led approach to recovery
The chancellor's recovery plan must give local leaders the powers and resources to rebuild their areas, says Andrew Carter.
Take a breath and take stock
It seems likely that we are facing the biggest challenge to our economy since the 1940s, says Mike Emmerich. ‘Now as much as ever we need the power of the state to be used to sustain and support the economy,’ he believes.
A partnership of place pioneers will reinvent our local towns and cities
We have a window of opportunity to create a new place legacy, but it requires a collaborative, longer term and fairer funding commitment to our towns and cities, says Karen Whelan.
Ambitions for Glasgow City Region undimmed by COVID
COVID may have brought delays to Glasgow’s £1bn City Deal infrastructure programme, but the region remains committed to all 21 projects, says Kevin Rush.
Minister defends ‘dangerous’ Towns Fund
Local government minister Luke Hall has been forced to fend off accusations of divisiveness and partisanship in the Towns Fund.
State aid replacement unveiled
The Government has today published plans for a ‘subsidy control system’ that will apply to councils.
Councils propose ‘super-district’
Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick DCs have revealed proposals to merge by 2024.
Cementing growth plans in The Bay
Whatever your thoughts may be on local government reorganisation it has brought together the three councils of Barrow, Lancaster and South Lakeland 'like nothing before', says Lawrence Conway.
Levelling up resembles a jigsaw of disparate ‘pieces of policy’
Arianna Giovannini says there is a consistent lack of clarity about what levelling up means - and it also remains unclear what areas should be 'levelled up'. The Government needs to develop a clear vision and strategy for the long-term, she adds.
Levelling up means devolving down
To ‘build back better’ we need to use recovery to invest in approaches that foster stronger place-based partnerships, says Graham Duxbury.
Subsidy Control – the new state aid
Councils still need to comply with new ‘Subsidy Control’ requirements, despite the end of state aid law in Great Britain. Paul McDermott, Victoria Thornton and Julian Jarrett explain how to navigate the new landscape.
Making council tax fairer is a good place to start on levelling up
If the Government wants to level-up, fostering inclusive growth and recovery across the country, making council tax fairer would be a good place to begin, argues John Dudding.
